Orthogonal reference analysis system with enhanced SNR
First Claim
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1. A method of non-invasive analysis of a target, said method comprising:
- generating probe radiation and multiple reference radiation that have orthogonal polarization characteristics;
modifying at least some of said polarization characteristics, wherein the step of modifying polarization characteristics further includes the step of rotating components of the multiple reference radiation, with the exception of the DC component, such that the co-propagating radiation contains a minimized amount of DC component of reference radiation, said DC component of reference radiation thereby forming an optimized amount of a reference radiation component;
capturing at least part of said probe radiation scattered from within said target to formsignal radiation;
combining said signal radiation and at least some of said reference radiation to formco-propagating radiation, wherein said co-propagating radiation is composed of maximized signal radiation and optimized amounts of at least one component of the multiple reference radiation components;
detecting at least one interferometric signal generated by at least part of said copropagating radiation to form an electronic signal; and
processing said electronic signal to achieve non-invasive analysis of said target.
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Abstract
A method, apparatus and system for non-invasive imagining and analysis involves generating probe radiation and reference radiation that have orthogonal polarization characteristics and controlling the polarization characteristics such that substantially all the back scattered probe radiation co-propagates with controlled amounts of components of the reference radiation, thereby improving signal to noise ratios and hence performance of imaging and analysis systems. A preferred embodiment of the invention includes a rotational sensitive mirror that systematically rotates the polarization vector of higher order components of the reference radiation.
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16 Claims
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1. A method of non-invasive analysis of a target, said method comprising:
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generating probe radiation and multiple reference radiation that have orthogonal polarization characteristics; modifying at least some of said polarization characteristics, wherein the step of modifying polarization characteristics further includes the step of rotating components of the multiple reference radiation, with the exception of the DC component, such that the co-propagating radiation contains a minimized amount of DC component of reference radiation, said DC component of reference radiation thereby forming an optimized amount of a reference radiation component; capturing at least part of said probe radiation scattered from within said target to form signal radiation; combining said signal radiation and at least some of said reference radiation to form co-propagating radiation, wherein said co-propagating radiation is composed of maximized signal radiation and optimized amounts of at least one component of the multiple reference radiation components; detecting at least one interferometric signal generated by at least part of said copropagating radiation to form an electronic signal; and processing said electronic signal to achieve non-invasive analysis of said target. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus for non-invasive analysis of a target, said apparatus comprising:
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a broad band optical source and a polarized beamsplitter for generating probe radiation and multiple reference radiation that have orthogonal polarization characteristics; a quarterwave plate for modifying polarization characteristics of signal radiation; a partial mirror that leaves the polarization characteristics of the DC components substantially unchanged thereby minimizing the magnitude of the DC component of the reference radiation that co-propagates with the signal radiation; and a rotational sensitive mirror for modifying polarization characteristics at least some of components of multiple reference radiation; means for capturing at least part of said probe radiation scattered from within said target to form signal radiation; means for combining said signal radiation and at least some of said reference radiation to form co-propagating radiation, wherein said co-propagating radiation is composed of maximized signal radiation and optimized amounts of at least one component of the multiple reference radiation components; detector for detecting at least one interferometric signal generated by at least part of said co-propagating radiation to form an electronic signal; and processing module for processing said electronic signal to achieve non-invasive analysis of said target. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification